


Eligor

by FaeryPeopleOfTheFutureDay



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-05-29
Packaged: 2018-04-01 20:27:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4033438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaeryPeopleOfTheFutureDay/pseuds/FaeryPeopleOfTheFutureDay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Link defeated Demise, Lord Ghirahim became trapped in an empty world that he began to call Eligor. He still possessed all of his powers and soon built a new life for himself, turning his prison into a kingdom. He discovered that he could open portals to other worlds. Unfortunately, he could not travel through them, but others could. This story follows three characters, Clover, Fern, and Caetano. *** indicates a shift in point of view.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Once upon a time, in a floating kingdom, there lived a princess.”

“But she wasn’t really a princess,” I interjected.

“Technically, her father was a headmaster, not a king, but at times, she felt like a princess, especially when she was given the honor to play the Goddess Hylia in the Wing Ceremony. She became very excited and wait to tell her prince.”

“He wasn’t really a prince.” I often had to correct Mother, she liked to make her stories into fairytales. I knew this was a story about her and Father. Mother says that they used to live on a floating island in the sky, but I’m not so sure about that.

“He was a knight.” She protested.

“He was learning to be a knight.” I corrected.

‘Do you want to tell the story?” She didn’t like it when I interrupted her.

“No mother, you tell it much better. I’ll be quiet now.”

“He was a silly boy, given to oversleeping and being lazy at times, but she loved him nonetheless. They were the best of friends. He did not have a mother of his own and so she would fill that role, making sure he woke up at the right time, that he packed his lunch and did his homework. She always encouraged him to do his best.”

“Father says you nearly killed him by pushing him off the island.”

“I wanted him to have some more practice with his bird before the competition.”

“And the statue of Hylia.”

“I gave him a Sailcloth. He was fine. Anyway, one day when the two were out flying, a black tornado appeared and took the princess Zelda away from her home and her prince. She faced many challenges with the help of her loyal protector Impa, including being used by Ghirahim to reawaken Demise.”

“Father crushed him.”

“I suppose you could say that, but the entire island came crashing down from sky. It was alright though, no one was really injured too badly. In the end, the princess and her prince lived happily ever after on the surface world with their lovely daughter Clover, who should really be getting to bed if she wants to be well rested for her birthday celebration tomorrow.”

“Just one more story?”

“No, it’s bedtime.”

“Please?”

Mother gave me a glare and I pulled the covers over my head and pretended to be asleep.

***

The boy who stood before Ghirahim, decked out in green with blonde hair and sword drawn couldn’t have been older than six, but his glare of determination and appearance reminded Ghirahim of someone much older, someone from his past. The resemblance and piercing glare was unsettling. Ever since that boy Link had bested him, Ghirahim had been afraid of him, though he didn’t like to admit it. He had never expected to see him again, not in this world. In this world, he controlled who could enter, and he only let children enter, children too young to be able to defeat him, but old enough to play with. Ghirahim vanished from sight. They boy scanned the room, turning in circles, trying to find Ghirahim.

“Show yourself!” the boy demanded. Ghirahim’s laugh echoed throughout the great hall. He materialized on the boy’s right side.

“Did you miss my pretty face?” he asked, his tongue extremely close to the boy’s ear. The boy turned fast and Ghirahim’s tongue swiped across his face.

“My name is Fern, and I will kill you, monster,” the boy declared.

“With a wooden sword? That hardly seems likely.”

“It doesn’t matter what it’s made of, so long as it pierces your heart.” Fern lunged at Ghirahim, thrusting the tip of the wooden blade towards the Demon Lord’s heart. Ghirahim simply raised his hand and the weapon vanished into a cloud of diamonds. The boy stared at him.

“What have you done with my sword?”

“It’s up there, Dearie,” he said, pointing to the chandelier which hung about high above their heads. “You can’t reach it.”

“You watch me,” Fern said as he grabbed the drapes and began to climb. After he had successfully tore the curtains and given the wall a big hug, Ghirahim tried to talk some sense into the deluded child.

“You foolish boy, come back down before you hurt yourself.”

“If I were you, I’d worry more about your safety than mine,” he explained as he climbed one more foot and grasped around desperately for a handhold. Ghirahim teleported over to Fern on the wall and the shocked boy let go. Even after he fell, the stubborn child refused to scream and instead simply shut his eyes and let his body go limp. He didn’t have long to fall, however, because at that moment, a temporary floor composed of orange diamonds appeared directly below him. It slowly lowered him to the floor. Fern was confused. Ghirahim was not pleased. He drew his own metal dagger with his right hand and gripped Fern’s neck with his other. Not tightly enough to choke him, but enough to ensure that he wouldn’t be able to escape.

“I told you that you couldn’t reach it. Did you think that I was lying to you?”

"I don't see any reason why you wouldn't, monster." Ghirahim smiled.

"There are two things that you need to know." Fern stood as still as he could as Ghirahim made an incision on the back of Fern's forearm. "Firstly, my name is Lord Ghirahim, but you may call master." Blood poured from the cut and began to stain Fern's sleeve. "Secondly, I have been many things in my life: murderer, prostitute, thief. And that was all during the single digit years of my life." Ghirahim smiled, tore away the sleeve, and ran his tongue along the boy's arm, licking up the blood and leaving a trail of saliva on the wound. "But I'm no liar." Then he drew back, snapped his fingers, and sent the boy away to a dungeon cell in the cave of shadows (when you are stranded in your own world, it only makes since to give everything a fabulous name).


	2. Chapter 2

“Eight years is the most important birthday celebration in a young girl’s life,” My mother told me as she brushed my long golden brown hair. I giggled.

“But that’s what you said last year.”

“Every birthday you have is the most important because it marks another year that you have stayed with me and your father.”

“Where else would I go?” Sometimes my mother didn’t make any sense. She was a wonderful woman and I couldn’t imagine ever leaving her or my father. 

Sometimes, my family just didn’t make sense. Take my grandfather, for instance. I don’t see him very often, but he was at my birthday party. Father says that he gets confused easily and has difficulty remembering. I wonder if everyone gets like that the longer they live.

“Grandfather,” I ran over and hugged him, “It’s good to see you.”

“Where is my grandson?” he asked.

“You don’t have a grandson.”

“Don’t be silly, little girl. This is his birthday. How old is Fern turning this year? Five? Or was that last year?”

“It’s my birthday, grandfather. Don’t you remember me? I’m your granddaughter, Clover.” He stared at me for a few more moments, trying to remember.

“Clover,” he repeated. “Yes, it is you. But you were just a baby.”

“That was a long time ago, Grandfather. I’m eight years old now.”

“Right, yes of course,” he mumbled. “He’s been gone for many years.”

Both mother and father would not tell me who Fern was. They both insisted that Grandfather was a confused old man and that I shouldn’t take anything he says all too seriously, especially when he was talking about people that only existed inside his head.

I suspected that there was something else going on. Something that I was going to find out.

****  
Fern couldn’t see anything but darkness. After pacing around for a bit, he discovered that he was in a cell of sorts. The monster must have put him here. That would make sense. The only thing he couldn’t understand is why he saved him from falling. Some magical floor had appeared, but there didn’t seem to be any other being in this realm. It was completely deserted. There must be some magical being out there, helping him. Maybe one that could bring some light so that he could figure out how to escape. The only sound he could hear was the occasional drip of water onto the stone floor. He was glad of the water because it meant that he wasn’t trapped in both total darkness and total silence and clued him in on the fact that he was in a cave.  
After a while, he began to grow quite hungry. I’m going to die in here, he thought. Maybe the monster did save me, so that my death would be much more painful.

“Is anyone there?” he called out, “anyone who can save me from this torment?”

“Torment?” Ghirahim asked, as he lit the torches on the wall with a wave of his hand. “You think this is torment? You are a very dramatic little brat.”

“Have you come to gloat?” Fern shot him an angry look. “Or have you come to kill me?”

“Why do you keep thinking that I want you dead?”

“You licked my blood and locked me in a dungeon.”

“And now, I have come to feed you,” he explained, waving his hand to make a plate of food appear. “You’re a lot more valuable to me alive,” he looked directly into Fern’s eyes, “no matter how delicious you taste." Then everything went dark once more.

****  
Caetano was a very young child, but he understood what was going on, what everyone was talking about when they thought he was asleep. His mommy was dying. She was the most kind and beautiful woman Cae had ever known. His father tried to be sympathetic to the boy, allowing him extra sweets before bed, but Caetano knew that his father wasn’t as upset as he pretended to be. He almost seemed relieved that his wife was dying, as if he was glad to finally be rid of the burden she caused him. There was talk among the neighbors that Caetano’s father was in love with another young woman named Tremaine. 

Caetano’s mommy had these beautiful diamond earrings. They were not only made of blue diamond gemstone, but also shaped like a diamond rhombus. 

“Mommy, why can’t I wear your earrings?” he had asked her one evening, before she became sick.

“Cae, you don’t have the holes in your ears.” She pointed to the holes in her own ears and tugged lightly on the tips of mine.

“Can you put holes in my ears?”

“I don’t think your father would like that very much.”

“Why would he care? They’re my ears.”

“I’ll talk to him about it,” she promised.

They started off talking, but I saw that she was right about father being against the idea. I peered through the keyhole. They both became very angry. I had to run back to my room, because Mommy was coming towards the door. She went straight to my room and smiled at me.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Cae? It’s going to hurt.”

“What about father? He doesn’t seem too happy.”

“You were right, Cae. They’re your ears. If you want to have them pierced, it’s fine with me, but it’s your decision.”

When his father saw Caetano wearing his mommy’s earings, his mouth tightened and his eyes glared at Cae’s mommy. She glared back, as if silently daring him to saw something. When Cae’s father silently left the room, Cae looked up and smiled at his mommy.

“We won this battle, my son,” she told him.


	3. Chapter 3

I began speaking to some of the skyloft knights to see what I could find out about this mysterious Fern. Most of them agreed with my parents and told me that he was simply a made-up character, that he didn’t exist. Fledge started to sweat nervously when I asked him. I asked him again, and he ran away. Eventually, I found someone willing to talk. I discovered a note taped to the belly of Fluffy, the pet remlit that I got for my birthday. 

If you want to find out the truth about your brother Fern, go to the lowest house on the island at sundown. There is a secret entrance in the graveyard. Do not tell anyone about this, especially your parents. They will try to stop you. They don’t want you to know the truth.

When the sky started to turn pink, I knew sundown was approaching. I left under the pretense of taking Fluffy for a walk. I took a winding route, complete with running, swimming, climbing, jumping, and hiding, to make it impossible to follow me. At last, I made it to the graveyard. It was a little spooky, but I wasn’t frightened. There weren’t any real monsters to be afraid of in skyloft. Even the remlits are calm. 

I glanced around. I didn’t see any sort of entrance. Maybe there was a switch or something. I leaned on a gravestone (It had been a fast run, after all) and, to my surprise, it moved. That’s not right, I thought. Gravestones aren’t supposed to move. Unless… I looked around and saw that the shed had opened. …it’s a switch.

I climbed down a long ladder and walked across a very unsafe looking walkway into the doorway of what could be considered a house. I was greeted by a tall man with horns and wings. I wasn’t afraid of him, of course. I had seen him before. His name was Batreux. He looked surprised to see me, but he let me enter.

“Kukiel?” he called. A young woman looked up and smiled when she saw me.

“I was hoping you’d come. Please sit.” I did as I was told.

“You know about Fern?” I asked.

“Most everyone knows about Fern, but very few are willing to defy your parents. They made it very clear that no one was to about him, especially to you.”

“Then why are you-” I began.

“I never was one for following the rules,” she explained, “especially when I don’t agree with them. Fern is your older brother. He was a lot like your father: adventurous, stubborn, loyal. Somehow, he got this idea in his head that he was going to ‘defeat the mighty monster’ that your father battled all those years ago. He wanted to destroy Ghirahim once and for all.”

“I thought he was already destroyed.”

“He was defeated, but not destroyed. He lives on in another realm but is unable to enter ours.”

“It sounds a lot like he’s dead. Well, except for that ‘living on’ bit.”

“Before I continue, you must promise not to go after him alone.”

“How could I?”

“Just promise, please. I know that you’ll want to rescue your brother, and I can tell you how, but you cannot battle with this monster alone.”

“I promise.”

“Good. Ghirahim can open up portals to bring things to his realm. It was through one of these that Fern ventured. You parents wanted you to believe that Ghirahim was destroyed and Fern never existed so that you would never want to travel to Ghirahim’s realm. He can only bring you if you truly want to go there.”

“Why hasn’t he ever brought my parents? Surely they would like to rescue Fern.”

“Do you really think he would be ignorant enough to face them again? He usually only brings children and others he believes are too weak to oppose him.”

“Then how do we save him?”

“When you enter his realm, you need to take something from it, something that only exists in his realm. It will help us create a portal.”

“How will I get it to you?”

“Put it in this,” she instructed, handing me a square box no wider than my head. “We’ll take care of the rest.”

***  
Fern thought the world was empty except for himself and Ghirahim. In the darkness, his hearing had grown better, but there wasn’t much to hear, really. Then one day, he heard a cough. At first, he thought it was Ghirahim, but it was too high pitched. Besides, he liked to make a grand entrance with torches lit, sometimes music playing, and on one occasion a floating giant swan. He liked to be noticed. Hiding was unlike him.

“Is someone there?” he called out. Of course someone’s there, he thought. You just heard them cough. I revised my question. “Who’s there?”

“Who killed Cock Robin?” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Sparrow,” she called him.

“I’m not a sparrow. I’m a little boy.”

“Snips and snails and puppy dogs’ tails.”

“I don’t understand.”

“And that was the end of Solomon Grundy.”

I stopped trying to talk to her after that. She didn’t make any sense.

***  
“Caetano, you must wear the clothes your father set out for you,” his nanny insisted. She had been taking care of the boy ever since his mother died a few months ago.

“Don’t wanna,” he mumbled into the pillow that his face was resting on. They all wanted him to dress in nice clothes and put on a nice smile for his father’s wedding, but he simply refused to get off the floor.

“Cae, please. I know you don’t want to do this, but if you do, I’ll get you a treat.” 

His ears perked up just a little. Nana’s treats usually came in the form of toys or sweets.

“What kind of treat?” he asked.

“Anything you want.”

“Can I have earrings just like Mommy’s?” he asked, looking up at her. With his cute brown eyes, it was hard to say no.

“I can do you one better than a replica. How about I see if I can find you your mother’s actual earrings?”

He nodded and stood up, finally ready to get dressed.

Unfortunately, they didn’t find the earrings anywhere in the house and Caetano had to settle for a sugary snack.

When the bride walked through the doors, everyone commented on how ‘beautiful’ she looked in her dress. No one had called Cae beautiful when he walked in. No one paid him any attention at all, except for Nana. She said he looked adorable. She meant it as a compliment, but it still made him feel small, like he was unimportant. Caetano didn’t even bother to look at Tremaine. At least, not until someone made a remark about how her blue earrings glistened in the light.


	4. Chapter 4

I had expected a portal to look more like a swirling of purple light, or at the very least a doorway. There was no physical manifestation of the gateway that brought me to this realm. I was just sitting on my bed and studying the box. I must have fallen asleep, though, because I remember waking up on a cold crystal floor that I had never seen before. I was still holding the box. I looked around. It was a very large room with an elaborate pair of doors decorated with golden designs at the far end and tall windows adorned with blood red curtains.

A teenage boy with dark hair and startling blue eyes stood in front of her looking mildly confused.

“Master?” he called to the doors behind him.

“Where am I?” I asked the boy.

“You’re in a land called Eligor. I’m not sure I should say much else until the master returns.”

“Is your master called Ghirahim?”

“Lord Ghirahim,” corrected the man who stepped in through the doors. He was a tall slender figure dressed in all white except for a red cloak and golden decor. His skin was the shade of slightly gray clouds and the hair that covered the left half of his face was as white as his skin tight trousers. His right eye was outlined with purple makeup and a blue diamond hung from his right ear. “Thank-you Blaze. You are dismissed.”

The boy bowed to his master and left. 

Ghirahim turned to me.

“What is it that you want?”

“Why do you think I want something?”

“In order to travel to Eligor, two conditions must be fulfilled. First, the traveler, that’s you, must truly wish to come here. Second, I must allow the transportation. As a general rule, I allow always children to come. Sometimes they entertain me. Sometimes I entertain them.”

“Like Flame?”

“Blaze,” he corrected. 

“Right.”

“So, what is it that you want?”

“I am the daughter of Link and Zelda. I’m sure you remember them.”

“How could I forget?”

“You should know that they’re coming for you. They will destroy you unless you give back my brother Fern.”

“I’m afraid that no boy by the name of Fern has lived here in many years.”

“But he was here?”

“Yes,” he got a distant look in his eyes. “But that was a long time ago.”

***  
When Ghirahim returned once more, Fern had to shield his eyes from the torchlight.

“I’ve got a job for you,” Ghirahim told him.

By the time Fern’s eyes had grown accustomed to the light, they were no longer in a dungeon. Instead, they stood in the palace hall, the same place Fern had first appeared in Eligor. The red curtains on the east wall were still ripped and there was a single drop of Fern’s dried blood staining the crystal floor. They only difference was the absence of Fern’s wooden left resting upon the chandelier. 

“What do you want me to do?” Fern asked, well aware that it was best just to do what Ghirahim told him, at least until he could find a way to kill him. He must find out where he hid his sword.

“I need you to clean up the mess you’ve made.” Ghirahim made a beckoning gesture to the curtains and they slowly floated down from their perch and onto the floor. He handed Fern a spool of red thread.

“How am I supposed to fix this without a needle?” Fern asked.

“Well you could try to be creative” Ghirahim mumbled. With a sigh, he produced a silver needle and handed it to the boy. “Be careful with that,” he warned. “I wouldn’t want any more of your blood on this floor.” A thought occurred to Fern.

“Why can’t you just use your magic to fix them?” Fern asked. “You have all this power, surely fixing a few tears in fabric would be easy for you.”

“Magic. What an excellent idea,” he exclaimed. He raised his left hand and a pain shot through the boy’s left arm. Fern glanced down to see that the large scar on his arm had not healed as he had hoped. Instead it had turned as black as the darkness of his cell. The cut was only a single line, but the darkness branched out like tree roots. It was growing. In a few more days, it would probably cover his entire arm. It hadn’t started hurting until Ghirahim raised his hand, so he must be causing it. 

All of a sudden, the pain stopped. His whole arm felt numb. He poked his palm, but he couldn’t feel it. Then he realized that he couldn’t eve move it his arm was no longer his own. Someone else controlled it now.  
Ghirahim grinned and Fern’s left hand reached for the thread and began attaching it to the needle, which was hard work for one hand. It poked his right hand with the needle gently as if to say Hey, get with the program buddy. We’ve got a job to do.

Fern had no choice. His left hand wouldn’t stop until the job was done. Frustrated, he helped his left hand thread the needle and began to work on the curtains.  
Satisfied, Lord Ghirahim slowly walked out of the room, raising his hand to close the door behind him.

***  
During the ceremony, Caetano had tried to smile and be the happy little boy everyone that wanted him to be. He wasn’t a bad actor for someone of his age. Every time he wanted to pout or scream or stomp on someone’s foot, he reminded himself that he would get his revenge in due time. This woman, Tremaine, might think that she could weasel her way into his heart by giving him food and a smile, but she would never be his mommy and she would never get away with taking the earrings that rightfully belonged to him. He just needed to wait for the right moment, and that would only come when they were alone together. Unfortunately, there were so many people at the wedding that he didn’t get his chance there. He wasn’t invited on the honeymoon, which upset him very much until Nana told him that they weren’t actually going to a moon made of honey and it would actually be quite boring for him if he did go.

When they finally returned, Caetano’s father was always in the way. He didn’t want to leave his new wife’s side. You would think that there was a lollipop inside her mouth, the way he kept kissing her. It was actually quite gross. Caetano went to his bedroom and pretended to be asleep and eventually his father went to bed as well. Tremaine was still awake. Now was his chance.

“Mother?” he said in his sweetest little voice to Tremaine. She smiled. “I have something for you.”

“What is it Cae?” his eye twitched a little as he stopped himself from telling her that only people he liked had the privilege of calling him Cae. Everyone else should have to suffer through the extra syllables.

He led her into his room and pulled out a silver music box which was also a jewelry box. It had belonged to his mommy.

“It’s beautiful,” she told him.

“It’s empty,” he replied, glancing at his earring that hung from her ears.

“Oh,” she said, understanding. She removed the earrings and reached for the jewelry box with the intention of storing them inside. He closed the lid and withheld it.

“It’s mine,” he said. “And so are those.”

“Don’t be silly, Cae honey. They’re ladies’ earrings. They have no place with a little boy.”

Caetano tried to hold back his anger. He knew his mommy would be upset if he hurt someone. But his mother wasn’t here. She was gone, and being nice couldn’t even get him his earrings back.

“They have no place with an evil witch!”

He lunged at the woman, using the music box like a weapon to beat her in the stomach (which as he later found out, was actually her intestines, because the stomach is located behind the lower part of the ribcage). She doubled over and he grabbed the earrings from her hand. He could have stopped there, but something inside him wanted to continue. Her suffering brought him so much joy, joy he had not felt since he lost his mother. He continued to throw objects at her as she tried to pursue him. He grabbed whatever he could find: shoes, books, fruit, hairbrushes… It was fun. Until he found a sharp knife.

One for sorrow,  
Two for joy,  
Three for a girl,  
Four for a boy,  
Five for silver,  
Six for gold,  
Seven for a secret,  
Never to be told.  
-One for Sorrow (Nursery Rhyme)


	5. Chapter 5

Blaze walked next to me, grasping my left hand to guide me through the intricate hallways and secret passageways that separated me from my ‘room.’ It was a huge castle, and in some places, there was hardly enough light to see, but Blaze navigated the place like he lived it was his own home, which I guess it was. As I was wondering what could possibly compel him to leave his family and take up residence with a demon lord, I noticed a crystal pendant hanging from his neck. The white diamond-shaped crystal that hung directly in front of his heart seemed to be emitting a faint glow of white light. I had never seen anything like it before. I knew it had to be a magical item. Something that only exists in this realm. I might snatched it and have run then and there, but I still had no idea where Ghirahim stashed my box. 

“That was quite a threat you made,” he said finally, wiping his dark hair away from his face and looking at me with his strikingly blue eyes. 

“I thought you weren’t allowed to talk to me.”

“That was for your own protection. The less you know about Eligor, the more chance you have of getting home. Although you seem to be more interested in destroying him than returning home,” he added.

“Well it wasn’t just a threat. My parents are more powerful than you think, and once they get here-”

“They won’t,” he insisted. “Your parents aren’t coming. If you want somebody to save you, you better start believing in better heroes.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Look, Fern held on to that same delusion that his parents were some type of super powerful heroes. He thought they were coming for him. The worst part was that he actually believed that they cared about him.”

“He’s their son. Of course they care about him. They love him.”

“Lineage and love aren’t the same thing, darling. They loved the idea of a child. As soon as he was gone, they started making another to replace him. You should go back home before they do the same to you. I   
might be able to convince him to let you leave.”

“I won’t leave without Fern.”

“Then I guess you’ll die here”

***  
Fern looked out the window at the night sky. After about a month, Ghirahim had given him a real room in the castle. He still had to do silly chores like organizing, polishing, and cleaning, but it was better than a dark cell in the dungeon. The window was his favorite part of his new room. Through it, he could see the whole land of Eligor unfold before him. There were trees and hills, rivers and caves, many things that could be found on Skyloft. The only thing it was missing was stars. It was strange, because although the sky was blue during the day and black at night, the sun gave off a dull light, as if it had run low on batteries, the moon rarely appeared at all, and the stars were just completely gone, as if they had never existed.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Ghirahim asked, his voice so sudden that it made Fern jump. 

“I-I guess,” Fern replied, still refusing to smile or look at Ghirahim. He may have to act civil if he didn’t want to be punished, but that didn’t mean that he had to like it.

“I built most of it from scratch. I did a nice job on the forest, don’t you think? There wasn’t a single tree when I first got here.”

“How can you just build a forest?”

“Like so,” he said, curling out his fingers to reveal an indigo flower.” 

Fern tried hard not to smile with delight. 

“It’s called a hyacinth,” Ghirahim explained, handing the flower to Fern. “Supposedly the first one grew from the blood of a beautiful boy. It has a wonderful smell, don’t you think?”

***  
It was supposed to be used for cutting vegetables, but the blade leaving his hands felt so unique that for a moment he believed that that could be its only purpose. Time seemed to slow down as the metal knife sliced through the air and impaled itself in Tremaine’s side. He rushed to her side, horrified. She let out a strangled cry of pain, but soon lost consciousness as a result of blood loss. He really hadn’t meant to kill her. He removed the knife, thinking that would help, but it only increased the amount of blood spilling onto the floor and covering his hands. There was no going back. No second chances. She lay dead on the kitchen floor, still holding the earrings in her right hand. He picked them up and put them on. He had just finished the fastenings when his father, awoken by the cries of his bride, stepped into the room. He saw Tremaine on the floor. He saw her blood covering Caetano’s hands as he put on her earrings.

Caetano’s father glared at him with such anger that Cae was struck with paralyzing terror. His father had been angry at him before in his life, but this was different. This was unadulterated hatred. Caetano lost control of his bladder as his father snatched up the knife and grabbed Caetano by the shoulder, his grip tight enough to bruise. If his father noticed the tears streaking down Cae’s cheeks or the wet patch forming on Caetano’s trousers, he didn’t react. His focus was on Caetano’s ears. He gripped the top of Caetano’s head with the same power he had used on Caetano’s shoulder and the knife. With one swift motion, he sliced into Caetano’s left ear, cutting of the point and the earring with it. Caetano wrenched free from his grasp and ran out the door into the night. He kept running until he could barely stand. Then he climbed a tree and tried to muffle his cries with his arm. His teeth dug into his forearm until the only sound he could hear was the terrified beating of his own heart.


	6. Chapter 6

I sneaked out of my room and began to search for my box. Once I had that, I could easily grab one of the many relics that he keeps in his castle. I had to tiptoe down the halls. I didn’t want anyone to hear me. I just hoped that I wouldn’t get lost before I could make my way back to my room. If I couldn’t find it, that would be the only option. If I didn’t get caught, then I could continue my search the next day.

There was a faint glow coming from one of the rooms, which was unusual considering that most of the light came from torches. Torchlight would flicker, but this was steady and constant, like the glow of Blaze’s necklace. I tiptoed closer to it and peered through the crack underneath the door. The door swung open and Ghirahim’s voice rang out:  
“Well do come in.”

I got back to my feet and faced him.

“I was-” I started, trying to come up with a lie.

“Save it,” he said. “I don’t have time for your lies about why you were snooping around. Just stand still and don’t move.”  
He leaned closer to me and examined my face in deep concentration.  
“Okay,” he said finally and picked up a small figurine. He appeared to be working on molding the face of a little girl. Me.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m fixing the nose. The bends were all wrong. It looks a lot better now, don’t you think?”

“Uh…” 

“It’ll look a lot better once I fire it and paint it.”

I looked around the room. There were hundreds of figurines. Some were simply just clay, but others glistened with color. They were quite beautiful. There were dozens of different little boys and girls, but some of them repeated. 

“What is all this?”

“My memories.”

“Who is that?” I asked, pointing to the model of a teenage boy. He had a kind smile and his blonde hair was so pale that it was almost white. His eyes were the kind of light blue that reminds you of the sky. There were many figurines of him, each showing off a different emotion. Most were of him smiling, laughing, smirking, but there was one where his eyes were red with tears and he glared at me as if I had done something horribly wrong.

“Innes Stellar,” he replied. I waited to see if he would explain further, but judging by his expression, he was deep in thought.

“Is that supposed to mean something?”

“Not to you. But to me…” he paused, looking at the boy’s kind smile. “He was my first love, and I will always remember the promise I made to him.”

“You loved someone?” I could have commented on the gender of this ‘love,’ but I was more shocked by the very existence of a person that he could love. Ghirahim didn’t seem like a very loving person.

“Yes.” He smiled sadly and returned to his work.

***  
Fern had many chores, but most of them were related to cleaning. The place was so big that it got dirty easily. Dust and dirt would seemed to appear in crevices about as often as Fern could get rid of them. It was kind of fun being able to explore the castle though. There was always one more unopened door. Sometimes those doors led to hallways and sometimes to new wings of the castle waiting to be explored. He discovered secret passageways, hidden doors, and beautiful relics. Ghirahim liked to be noticed. His castle was impressive, but what he put inside it was breathtaking.

He had just finished dusting the shelves in what he had nicknamed the “treasure room,” due to its abundance of jewelry and adornments made of precious metals and glistening gems that sparkled all the more after he polished them. He used the cloth to pick up a jewel. It was one of the blue diamond earrings that Ghirahim loved to wear. It seemed strange that one would be here, without the other. Although, technically he had only ever seen him wear one on his right ear. The other was covered by his white hair. Fern had always assumed that he wore the other earring on his other ear.

He had already polished the front of it and didn’t want to dirty it with his fingerprints while he finished the back of it. Apparently polishing rags can be slippery. The blue diamond fell and shattered against the ground. Fern froze, terrified of how Ghirahim would react to this. The gem that lay in pieces on the floor was precious to him, and Fern had destroyed it. It would only be a matter of time before he found out. Tears began to well up in his eyes as his master materialized and saw the damage.

“I am so, so, sorry. It was an accident. I was just trying to polish it, like you told me, and it slipped. And then the floor-” he broke off in a sob.

“It’s okay.” Ghirahim assured him. 

“You’re not mad?”

“Come here.” Fern tentatively took a step towards Ghirahim.

“You’re not going to hurt me, are you?”

“No.”

Fern took another step. Slowly he made his way over and Ghirahim placed a hand on his shoulder and the boy looked up at him, still very scared. Ghirahim laughed.

“You look so adorable when you’re frightened,” Ghirahim observed. “Don’t worry about the earring. I would much rather it crash to the floor than you. Besides, I couldn’t really wear that one anyway.”   
He moved his hair to reveal his left ear. It should have been pointy like his right, but instead it was shorter and more curved. Much of it was missing, including the portion that the earring attached to.

“What happened?” the boy asked, staring in awe.

“Well, let’s just say that my father isn’t as kind-hearted as yours.” He let go of his hair and it fell back down to cover his ear.

“You can tell me,” Fern assured.

“There’s not much to tell, really. He tried to kill me. He cut my ear with a knife in bloodlust. I ran away before he could do any more damage to me.” 

“But,” Fern couldn’t understand how a father could treat his son like that. “But why would he do that?”

“He was very angry with me for killing my stepmother and unwilling to forgive the mistake of a scared and angry little boy.”

Fern looked dumbfounded.

“Don’t be so shocked; I’ve already told you that I was a murderer.” Ghirahim said, annoyed by the boy’s defective memory.

“It’s not that.”

“Well then what is it?”

“You were scared.”


	7. Chapter 7

My search was still unsuccessful and I returned to my room. I had just lain down on my bed when I heard a knock on the door. 

“You dressed?” Blaze asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Better to ask then to walk in on you naked.”

“Does that ever happen?”

“Sometimes. And it’s terribly awkward for everyone involved. That’s one of the reasons that I think we should put locks on the doors. Anyway, do you want to see something cool?”

“I’m not sure that I should trust you. You clearly don’t like me or my parents.”

“I don’t like your parents, that’s true. I was rude to you before, but I have realized that I can’t really blame you for being born, and so now I want to make it up to you. Just come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

“Just trust me.” 

His blue eyes twinkled and his smile turned into a slightly evil grin as he led me down the corridors once more. We came to a spiral staircase and began to climb. It was very narrow, so I had to walk behind him as we climbed, turning left and left and left until I became dizzy. I briefly considered sneaking away from Blaze, but I would be hopelessly lost and it would just make him angry.

“It’s more fun on the way down,” he promised.

Eventually, we made it to the top where we found a ladder and a trapdoor leading to the roof. Climbing through, I found myself standing on a crystal floor. There was a railing around the outer edge of the roof, but that was it. There were no walls, no ceiling, no furniture. Moonlight covered the floor and made it sparkle, but other than that, there wasn’t much to see. 

I’m not sure why he brought me here. I turned back to Blaze. He was smiling in awe, but he wasn’t looking at me or the floor. I scanned the scene, but there wasn’t anything else to look at.

“Blaze?” I asked. He held up his finger to shush me.

“They’re dreaming,” he whispered to me, his smile wider than ever. “All of them.”

“All of who?”

“Of whom,” he corrected. “Can’t you see them?”

“I can only see you. What do you see?”

“All of the children dreaming of Eligor”

 

****  
Fern was asleep in his bed when something poked him in the arm.

“Wake up,” a voice told him. Fern moaned for the voice to go away and let him sleep, but then his own hand (his left hand of course) slapped him hard in the face.

“OW!”

“Come with me,” Ghirahim commanded.

“It’s nighttime. Let me sleep.”

“No. I have to show you something now and I’d rather not have to drag you on my nice clean floor.”

“Carry me.” Fern held his arms out like a baby wanting to be picked up.

“I’m not your mother,” Ghirahim insisted.

“Please?” Fern moaned through barely opened lips. His eyes were fluttering, whether from the sensitivity to light or to add to the begging effect, Ghirahim couldn’t tell. Eventually he gave in and picked the child up in his arms. His limp body felt so warm and soft. Ghirahim carried the boy away. Normally, he would have simply teleported, but if he did that now, he would travel to his destination, but Fern would be dropped on the floor.

Wearily, Fern opened his eyes to find that Ghirahim had set him down on the floor of the treasure room. 

“I just finished it,” Ghirahim told him, holding out a necklace. The silver chain dangled from his outstretched finger. At the end rested a diamond shaped crystal that glowed with white light.   
Fern reached his hands out to take the gemstone in his hands. His eyes were wide with amazement. It looked just like the earring he broke, except larger and whiter and flatter and brighter.

“I made it for you,” he explained. “I wanted something to do with the shards of my earring.”

“It glows like the light of the missing stars.”

“Missing stars?”

“There aren’t any stars here” Fern observed.

“Maybe they were stolen” Ghirahim chuckled, as if remembering an inside joke with himself. 

“What?” Fern asked.

“Just a story my mother once told me.”

“Can I hear it?”

“There was this little princess who was afraid of the dark, so the king plucked a star from the night sky. I think that he had been blessed by a fairy or something like that, because it was as easy for him as picking a flower. He put it in the darkest corner of her bedroom so that the creatures of darkness could no longer haunt her. The princess was very pleased.  
The star was no larger than a marble and about as bright as the flame of a candle, but it was so beautiful that people would travel just far to gaze upon it. Eventually, the King grew tired of these visitors. He liked to think of himself as a great king, and these travelers would only pay attention to his daughter’s night-light, not giving him a second thought. So then, he plucked another star from the night sky and had it put into the jewels on his scepter. Now he could show off his wealth and power to all who entered the citadel. Soon, he added four more stars to the jewels on his crown. Later, he lit up his rings and medallions. His name became known in the four great realms: King Lunas the Magnificent.  
As one final display, he grabbed all of the stars left in the sky and illuminated his entire castle. During the day, it wasn’t all that impressive, but when the sun went down, it was incredible. The illuminated citadel was so magnificent that it was almost unreal. It only added to his fame. Unfortunately, this is when he got into trouble.”

“What happened?” Fern asked.

“Well, it’s one thing to take a few stars, but it’s another thing entirely to steal them all. Sailors need them to navigate and without stars, what would happen to astronomy and astrology. There was chaos. People complained. They told him that he needed to put the stars back.”

“And?”

“He refused. The stars had given him so much glory and power. He didn’t want to give that up. Eventually, an angry mob showed up to force him to return the stars. Most of their tactics were ineffective, but a gorgon was able to turn him into stone just as a sword sliced his head off. With the king now dead, the forces holding the stars were broken.  
The stars were quite angry with the king for imprisoning them, so when they returned home, they brought the stone head with them, to hold him captive as punishment for what he did to them.  
Separated from their true home, not belonging in the world they were in.  
Although just a stone decapitated head, he was still much larger than the stars. They found this intimidating, but decided that since he couldn’t glow as they could, they were still much more superior. The sun, who had seen all of these events took pity on the young girl. She would grow to be queen, yes, but now she was a scared little child who had lost her father and her light. The sun cast its light upon the stone head at night so that when the darkness arrived, the king’s daughter could still see his face shining bigger and brighter than all of the stars.”

“So the man in the moon used to be an actual man?”

“I never said it was a true story.”

***  
Caetano lived on the streets for a while pickpocketing strangers before Marquis took him in. It was an odd meeting really. Caetano had been trying to pickpocket Marquis when the man grabbed his hand tightly. Marquis held Cae’s hand tightly and dragged him away. Caetano was sure that he was going to be arrested, but no matter what he tried, he could not break free from the man’s grasp. He dragged Caetano into a building and threw him onto the floor.

That Caetano started working for Marquis. He lived at what Marquis called ‘The Hub.’ It wasn’t an ideal childhood, but it was better than starving on the streets. Marquis gave him food and a place to sleep.   
Marquis called it ‘renting out.’ People would pay Marquis to rent out Caetano. A few of them made him do manual labor, but many were more interested in him being naked.  
He spent many years working for Marquis before he finally left.


	8. Chapter 8

Fern slashed and countered with his sword, but his opponent was simply too quick and too powerful. Fern was dueling Ghirahim in exchange for his freedom and badly loosing. When he was pinned to the ground with a sword at his throat, he knew it was over. Ghirahim didn’t kill him, of course. This wasn’t a duel to the death.

He had been training for nearly a year, and he was no closer to beating Ghirahim. He began to realize that he would be here forever. He had already accepted that he would never be able to kill Ghirahim, and he didn’t want to any more. But now he wondered if he would ever see his mother and father again. 

He had started to give up hope.

Then Ghirahim created a door in front of him.

“Go,” he said.

“You want me gone? I thought you liked me.”

“I adore you. But no matter how much I want to, I can’t keep you here. You are my stars. You’re beautiful and incredible and magnificent, but that doesn’t change the fact that I stole you from the sky. Now I need to let you return home, because that’s what’s best for you.”

“This will take me home?”

“Yes”

Fern bolted for the door and ran through it. He came out on the other side into a field and the door disappeared.

It was still a long journey from the house. When he eventually found his way home, he was exhausted, but he knew that he would have dinner waiting for him. The door was locked. He was too short to reach the door knocker and he just wanted to lay in his own bed. He began climbing the vines that led to his window, as he had so many times before. It was the fun way to get into his room. When he got up to the window, it was not only shut and locked, but also barred. They were trying to keep him out. But why? Didn’t they want him to come home?

He peered through the window. His parents were smiling at each other. They shouldn’t be smiling. They hadn’t seen him yet. What were they smiling at? When he saw the crib where his bed should be and the infant in his mother’s arms, his eyes became wide and he fell to the ground.

When I went home  
I thought that certainly  
Someone would leave the door or window open wide for me  
And surely there would a welcome light  
When I went home  
I counted so upon  
Somebody waiting up to ask me questions on and on  
To ask me where I'd come  
Was I alright?  
But the door was bared and the window bared  
And I knew with an awful dread  
That somebody else, some other boy was sleeping in my bed  
When I went home  
I found that sad to say  
You must expect to be forgotten once you've gone away  
And so I couldn't stay that lonely night when I went home...  
-Peter Pan

***  
Nearly every day Caetano would have a new mistress. Sometimes they would rent him out for multiple days, and some days he would spend at the hub. There were other children working at the hub, some girls, some boys. Many of them were orphans. Cae told them that he was an orphan too. That was partially true. His mother was dead. His father… Well that was a different story. He didn’t want to tell them about his father, because then he would have to admit the whole truth. That he was a murderer. This was the only place that accepted him. He couldn’t lose this.

The very first day, he had shown up covered in crimson blood, his left ear hacked and gory. The raw wound spewed red plasma that caked his hands and neck, turning a shade of brown as it dried beneath his fingernails, where he couldn’t wash it off. He had lied about where he got the wound, of course. He said it was inflicted by the man who killed his father. Over the years, after the initial stitches and bleeding, it had become a curved nub, a vestige of its former self. He had hoped that it would grow back like a lizard’s tail, but it never did. The wound stayed with him internally as well as externally. He grew out his hair so that it covered his ear. He still kept his mother’s earring. It was the only thing he had left of her.

When people saw his ear, they became frightened, as if his injury made him more like an alien than of their own species. He didn’t like being different. He didn’t like people being frightened of him. He didn’t want to be reminded of what he was. That’s why he hid his ear from sight.

When Caetano was fifteen, he met Innes Stellar.

“Your cheekbones are magnificent,” the boy said, running his thumb across Caetano’s face. “This will be challenging, but I will succeed. Follow me.”

At first, Cae was confused because his new mistress was a boy, a boy not much older than he was. Maybe this boy had mistaken Caetano for a girl because of his long hair.

“I’m a boy,” he pointed out.

“I am well aware of that. Now follow me.”

Caetano wasn’t sure what to make of this. He glanced back at Marquis. Marquis gave him a nod to go ahead, so he followed the boy outside of the Hub. After a long walk, they arrived at their destination, what looked like an abandoned warehouse. The walls that were once white had been caked in shades of brown and red. It was probably rust and dirt, but those colors reminded Cae of the dried blood that he had scraped from his skin all those years ago.

“Welcome to Innes Stellar’s personal art studio,” the boy said with a grin.

Cae was surprised that Innes had told him his name. Innes led him inside and positioned him to stand on a wooden block.

“Do not move an inch from that position. I will be right back.”

Innes had said that he wanted to paint Caetano. It would be a shame to ruin his nice clothes. Caetano began to strip his clothes off. This was probably Innes plan all along. His mistresses often had creative ways of getting him to undress.

Innes walked back into the room carrying a few brushes and some paint. His eyes grew wide when he saw Caetano. Cae smirked, as if to say, come and get me Master.  
But Innes lowered his head and pushed his thumb and forefinger over his eyes.

“No, no, no,” he muttered. “I told you not to move. The shadows were perfectly aligned. The drapery of fabric was breathtaking. You messed this all up. Put your clothes back on.”

Caetano was speechless. He had never been rejected like that before. It was his job to follow instructions, so he did as he was told. He stood still for a long time while Innes repositioned his face and fluffed his collar. He thought he was finally done when Innes stepped back and nodded in satisfaction, but he was sorely mistaken. Now he had to stay still while Innes painted a picture of him.

Maybe it was Innes’s pale hair that reminded Caetano of vanilla cake. Maybe it was his utter rejection of Caetano. Maybe it was that Innes was so much closer to his age and his cold fingers had made Cae’s skin feel tingly.

Whatever the reason, Cae wanted nothing more than to run his tongue all over Innes’s face and neck. He wanted Innes to paint Cae’s skin the colors of fire.

“Master-” Cae began.

“Don’t talk,” Innes interrupted. He was still looking at his canvas. After a pause, he continued. “But if you were allowed to talk, I would rather you call me Innes.”

Innes would look at Cae, but not the way he wanted to be looked at. Innes’s eyes would scan Cae, taking analytical measurements and memorizing shadows and patterns and colors, but this wasn’t what Cae wanted. After what seemed like a long wait, Caetano was finally allowed to step down from his position.

“Can I see it?” Caetano asked.

“It’s not done yet.”

“But you’re done with me.”

“Not entirely. I will work on it some more and have you return tomorrow. This project shouldn’t take more than a few days.”

“The other project will take longer.”

“I don’t think I mentioned another project.”

“Not yours, mine.”

“Excuse me?”

Caetano just smirked and left. He would make Innes his no matter what it took.

 

Love seeketh not itself to please,  
Nor for itself hath any care,  
But for another gives its ease,  
And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair.

-William Blake


	9. Chapter 9

Clover wasn't expecting to find the woman in the dungeon. Her clothes were filthy with dried sweat and dirt, and she had clearly been here a long time. She might know something about Fern.

"Why are you weeping on a bright summer's day?" the woman asked.

"My name is Clover. Err, I'm not really weeping. I'm looking for someone."

"Stand up and choose your loved one." The woman pointed to Clover accusingly, as if she was on trial. Clover, already standing, continued.

"My older brother Fern. He was here a long time ago. I'm trying to find him." The woman smiled, as if remembering. Clover hoped that she would say something about Fern, hopefully something that made sense. She was disappointed.

"Snips and snails and puppy dog tails." The woman said, as if it were someone's name.

"Do you know where Fern is?"

"Girls and boys, come out to play. The moon doth shine as bright as day."

The woman would only speak in nursery rhymes, Clover figured.

"You saw him in the night?" Clover guessed.

"A wise old owl lived in an oak. The more he saw the less he spoke."

She wants me to be quiet.

"Ladybird, Ladybird, fly away from home. Your fern is on fire and your children are gone." She placed a special emphasis on the word Fern, as if it burned her throat to change a single word of the nursery rhyme. 

Clover understood. Originally, the ladybird's house had been on fire.

Clover smiled at the woman and thanked her.

"One, two, Buckle my shoe; Three, four, Open the door" the woman called from her jail cell as Clover walked away.

Clover glanced back.

"I wish I could. When my parents get here to rescue me and Fern, I'll try to get them to take you along too, but I can't make any promises."

***  
Falling wasn't so terrible. Fern's insides felt mixed up, but he was mostly worried about hitting the ground. Would it kill him? Would it just wound him? Would his parents notice either way? He longed to be back in Eligor. Ghirahim didn't exactly treat him like a son, but at least he paid attention to Fern. At least he hadn't replaced Fern with another, younger, child. And Ghirahim did love him, though maybe more as an apprentice than a son.

He closed his eyes and braced for the hard landing that never came. He felt like he was laying on something solid, but he couldn't remember hitting it. It sort of just appeared. Fern opened his eyes to discover that he was laying on a table, specifically in a bowl of mashed potatoes. He looked up at the figure quizzically.

"Were you expecting me to eat children?" Ghirahim asked sarcastically.

Fern wrapped his arms around the Demon Lord, still kneeling on the table as tears flowed from his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. Ghirahim, unsure how to comfort the child, calmly repeated his name.

"Fern, Fern, hey Fern."

Fern pulled back, for some reason upset by Ghirahim's mention of his name. Once his tears and sniffling had slowed enough to allow him to talk, Fern explained what had happened and why he came back.

"Don't call me Fern," he growled bitterly. "That's the name they gave me. I don't want to be a lame plant."

"Then what should I call you?" Fern thought about that for a moment.

"Something awesome and epic. Something small, but powerful and dangerous."

"Like a remlit?"

"I was thinking more like lightning or fire."

"I like fire, but maybe use a synonym. Ember?"

"No, that sounds like a girl name."

"Conflagration?"

"That's too many syllables. I can't remember that."

"Blaze?" Fern smiled.

"Yeah, I like that. Blaze."

***  
"Hey, what is your name?" Innes asked as they walked to the rundown warehouse. "You never said."

"Caetano."

"That is an interesting name. Did your mom or dad give that to you?"

"I don't really know."

"Where are your parents anyway?"

"They died a long time ago."

"Oh." Innes remained silent for a while before continuing. There wasn't a good response to that. Oh, you're an orphan. That must suck. "My parents and I don't live too far from my studio. I would introduce you to them, but they spend a lot of time at work, so they probably wouldn't be home." And they probably wouldn't want to meet you.

"I'm hungry. Do you have any food at your studio?"

"I have a few pieces of fruit, but I'm going to be using them for a still life, so you can't eat them.

"So I guess we're going to your house."

"It doesn't look like we have any other option." Innes smiled at his friend.

As Caetano munched on a sandwich, Innes finally allowed himself to ask the question.

"The project that you mentioned the other day,"

"Mmmm Hmmm" Caetano said, his voice muffled by the mouthful of food.

"What is it?"

Caetano slowly finished his mouthful, taking care to swallow every last bit and run his tongue along his teeth before answering.

"I want you to teach me art."

"Really? Why's that?"

"I want you to show me how to express a memory in a visual form. I want to not only remember this moment, but be able to show it to others."

"What moment?" Innes asked, confused for the moment. Caetano leaned forward and brushed his lips against Innes's, soft at first but then full of passion.

Innes stayed frozen, too shocked to kiss back or pull away. He didn't want to pull away, but he wasn't entirely sure how to kiss back.

Eventually Cae pulled away and his dark brown eyes bored into cerulean with such an intensity that Innes felt as if they penetrated into the cortexes of his brain.

"Rachel's never made me feel like that." He hadn't meant to say it outloud to Cae. He had only meant to think it to himself.

Cae's brown eyes looked suspiciously at him.

"Rachel?" Cae asked.

"She's the daughter of someone my parents know." Innes explained, as Cae took another bite of his sandwich. "We're the same age, and my parents have been trying to set us up for ages. Just recently, she's agreed, and I guess they assume that I have too. She's nice and all, but everyone expects me to love her, and I just don't."

"If she's a problem, we could always erase her from the picture."

"She's not a drawing. She's a real person. How can we erase her?"

"I was speaking metaphorically. I mean we could always just kill her."

Innes was horrified by the violent suggestion.

"I'm kidding," Caetano added quickly, after seeing Innes's expression. "I'm not a murderer."

Cae leaned over to kiss Innes again. This time, he was prepared to kiss back.


	10. Chapter 10

I had managed to get my box back, but I needed something to put in it. And I knew just the thing. I needed to get my hands on a certain crystal.

“Cutpurse!” Ghirahim yelled as he teleported into the room. This is bad. 

“It was mine to begin with, so technically-”

“I know exactly what that is and what it can do. Don’t pretend that you weren’t going to steal something. Or Someone.”

“Well-”

“I didn’t want to do this, but…”

Ghirahim waved his hand and shot darts at me. I clutched the box in front of my neck. One dart narrowly avoided my head. Another created a long stinging gash in my left arm. Two more embedded themselves in my leg. My vision went blurry as I collapsed on the floor. I almost didn’t realize the fifth dart landing in the box. Almost.

I can barely remember closing the lid of the box. And blood. So much blood. I could feel it.

I can’t remember falling asleep, but it must have happened.

I could hear people yelling, but it was distant, as if only on the edge of consciousness. Something about a son.

“Darling,” my mother spoke in a whisper. “Sleep. You need you rest.”

“What’s going on?” I mumbled, though all the words blended together in a moan. My mom kissed my forehead and laid me back on the ground and stood up. I was narrowly able to open my eyes, though it stung. My vision was still blurry and flickering, but I saw my father with a sword battling Ghirahim. I saw my mother holding fire in her hands. It didn’t make sense.

“Didn’t I already fight you, boy?”

“You took my son!” my father was angrier than I had ever seen before.

Ghirahim was making good use of his speed and teleportation, but my father’s rage was fearsome indeed. My mother made a motion as if to grab something, and Ghirahim’s wrists and ankles became surrounded with sky blue circles. He struggled against invisible chains and the blade of my father’s sword pressed against his throat.

“Stop!” Blaze shouted, putting himself between Ghirahim and his father. “I’ll go with you; just don’t hurt him.”

Dad stopped and stared at Blaze.

“Fern?” Mom asked.

“Yeah.”

***  
“Can I have a moment to say goodbye?” Fern asked. “Alone?”

“Well…” his father was skeptical

Fern glared at his parents and turned back to Ghirahim. Fern reached up and grabbed his master’s head, pulling it down so the he could press their lips together. Ghirahim’s eyes were wide with shock, and it was evident that he was as surprised as the others. Clover was surprised, but she was not as horrified as her parents. 

“Fine,” his mother said. “You have five minutes.” She released Ghirahim from his restraints and he teleported the two of them to another room.

“Please tell me that kiss was just revenge on your parents.” Ghirahim said.

“And what if it wasn’t?”

“Your parents are taking you home.”

“This is my home. Don’t let them take me away from you.”

“They put a barrier spell on you. The same way I can’t leave Eligor, you can’t enter. Even if I was able to keep you, I’m not that’s what would be best for you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I was so used to being in control of everything. I never again wanted to feel like the weak and powerless little boy I once was. I wanted to be in control of everything. I grew powerful and arrogant. I summoned Demise so that I could harness his power and have ultimate control. When your parents banished me to this prison, I simply used my power to create the world in which I could rule. For a while, it was perfect. I could control everything, even the children that appeared, through power and intimidation.

Then you showed up wanting to kill me. I knew at once who you were from. You looked so much like your father, but your eyes reminded me of Innes. I figured that you had to be my punishment, because at the same time that I wanted to wrap my arms around you and never let go, all you wanted to do was skewer me with that toothpick of a sword.

After I saved your life that first day, I cut your arm not only to punish you for endangering your life, but also so that I could mix my saliva with your blood and inject part of me into you. That’s how I can control your arm.

Since then, you have changed so much and it is my fault. I saw it as training you to be more obedient to me, but it wasn’t until Clover showed up that I realized how much I have slowly drained away your spirit, your individuality, and everything that made you special. I turned you into the docile servant who would bend to my will when I should have raised you as my son.

You were the one thing that I could not control. The one thing that didn’t bend to my will.

I kept you because I wanted to be adored. There not much point to being amazing if no one is there to praise you. In a way, you were the greatest gift I could receive, the missing stars to my empty sky. But at the same time, the most horrendous cursed punishment. Every moment that you spent here changed you. Your stubborn nature resisted, but you became tied to the realm the moment you entered it.

When you came back, I started teaching you magic to make you more powerful, to give you control. I thought it was working, but when Clover arrived talking about Fern, I thought back to that little boy and I realized that you are nothing like him. Even your own parents barely recognized you. It’s not just your physical appearance; your entire personality has changed. That’s why you need to go back home with your family.”

“I don’t care about them. You are the only home I would ever want to go back to. Don’t make me leave.

“I have to.

“What if things were different? What if my parents weren’t keeping us apart? What if I could stay here forever? Would you love me the way I love you?”

“That doesn’t matter. You have to go.”

“I’ll never be happy there without you.”

“That’s why I have to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Give me your necklace”

“What? No, I love this necklace. I want to keep it.”

“Just trust me.”

“Fine.”

He took of the necklace and handed it to Ghirahim. Ghirahim took the white diamond in his hands and, with some effort, split it in half. It was hollow on the inside.

“It opens?” Blaze asked.

“It does now.”

Ghirahim took a deep breath and blew into one of the halves. Small droplets of moisture formed on the side of the interior. He waved his hand above the crystal, and the moisture from his breath grew until the crystal was filled with liquid. He replaced the lid and sealed the container with a sharp twist.

“Drink this when you’re back home. Just twist it to open it.”

“This will take me back here?”

“Yes,” Ghirahim said, glad that Blaze was unable to tell when he was lying. Glad that he didn’t ask why Ghirahim didn’t leave Eligor long ago if he had the capabilities to break the barrier spell. For once, he was glad that Blaze didn’t fight back the way Fern would.

***  
“But your parents are both alive.” Caetano protested. “They’re just leaving each other, not you. Why is that so bad?”

“They no longer love each other.” Innes replied glumly. “Maybe they never did.”

“So? Why does that matter?”

“They’re separating because they don’t love each other, like their whole relationship was some big mistake. Like everything that came from it was never supposed to be. They can sign away their marriage, but I can’t just stop existing.”

“I wouldn’t want you to.”

Innes looked at Cae with eyes of cerulean. Cae pressed his lips against Innes’s.

“Do not ever think that you’re a mistake, Innes Stellar. Even when everything and everyone around you is rubbish, that doesn’t mean that you’re ruined too. In fact, it means that your magnificence will shine even more brightly among the dark sky of immorality.”

“Do you really mean that, or do you just want me to let you take off my pants again?”

“I mean it. Come on, even if you weren’t a gorgeous art prodigy or an ace at kissing, you would still be the most stellar person that I have ever met.”  
When Cae heard Innes laugh at his pun, he couldn’t stop himself from continuing. “I love everything about you.”

Innes stopped and stared at Caetano.

“I had never expected to love you the way I do, Innes Stellar, but now I can’t imagine loving anyone else. It just wouldn’t make sense. These past few months have been the best of my life.”

“Mine too.”

“You need to tell Rachel.”

“I can’t.”

“At least tell your parents. I’m tired of having to constantly hide under your bed whenever your parents come home.”

“You know they won’t accept you. Or us.”

“Then let’s run away to another land, one where nobody knows us. One where we can make the rules. One where we can live like kings.”

“They don’t just let strangers become kings,” Innes said between laughs.

“But we can be together.”

“I need to tell you something, Caetano.” Innes said.

“Tell me later,” Cae said as he took Innes’s frown away with his own mouth.

Innes Stellar placed his lips on Cae’s neck. Cae ran his fingers through the other boy’s short blonde hair. Innes’s lips were soft and left tingling sensations on Cae’s skin. Ines opened his mouth and began tracing shapes in Caetano’s skin with his tongue. He slowly worked his way up to Cae’s left ear. Cae would have pulled back if he were thinking clearly, but unfortunately his mind had never worked properly when Innes touched him. As Innes started sucking on Caetano’s ear, he realized that something was very wrong. He pulled back and stared at Caetano in shock and disbelief. Innes slowly pushed Cae’s hair out of the way to reveal a gnarled ear that had clearly been cut with a knife many years ago.

“Innes, let me explain.”

“He was right,” he muttered in disbelief. 

“Innes, what are you talking about?”

“A man claiming to be your father told me a story about a young boy who murdered his stepmother.”

“Innes, let me explain,”

“I didn’t want to believe him. I told him he was a dirty liar and Cae’s parents were both dead. He told me about the time he cut your left ear.”

“Innes,” Cae said through tears.

“It’s true isn’t it? You wouldn’t be crying and begging if it wasn’t true.” Innes didn’t give Caetano time to respond. “I thought I could trust you, but you’ve lied to me. Your father is not dead; you ran away after you murdered your stepmother. You’re not only a prostitute, but a murderer and a liar as well.”

“I swear I will never lie again.”

“How can I believe you now?”

Caetano never again saw Innes, but from that day forward, he did his best to be honest about everything, even when it hurt him, even when he revealed his own weaknesses to his enemies. Only twice did he lie again. Once to keep Fern, and once to set him free.

He didn’t do much for his reputation as a murderer, though. Once he realized that he would never see Innes again, he ran away from the hub, killed his father, and began work on his true plan: resurrecting Demise, so that he could rule with ultimate power.


	11. Epilogue

I couldn't remember the last time he let me out of my cage, if he had ever done so. My mind was old. It was deteriorating with the passage of time. It had been young once. I had been young once. But that was a long time ago, in another world. Another life.

A life of immense joy and pleasure, but also stress, doubt, and heartbreak. But I was free. I was not tortured by time. I was able to run and see the sky. I was able to live and laugh and love.

There was a boy, a great artist, whom I did love. We were betrothed. He would always deny it, but I knew his heart did not belong to me. His heart belonged to someone else. I could see it in the longing of his eyes that he tried to conceal. He did not wish to marry me, though he was too polite to say so. He was kind to me. We never did marry. I was captured before we had the chance.

I was out of my cage, out on the roof, with my captor, Caetano. He had lost Fern and was quite lonely.

"Thursday's child had far to go," I told him.

He gazed at the black starless sky, trying to keep his face expressionless. Trying to mask the heartache.

"Are you lonely, moon?" I asked, though I knew the answer. He remained quiet for a while before speaking.

"Rachel, sometimes, I'm not sure what I regret more: Keeping him, or letting him go." He spoke softly, his eyes still fixed on the darkness. "If I could erase my memory the same way I did his, then maybe I could feel better, but that's all I have left of him. My memories. I can't let that go too."

He removed his earring and set it in my hands. He placed one hand over mine and the other on his forehead. His eyes were shut in concentration. His skin began to glow with pale light. Then the crystal became illuminated. I could feel it sucking away my life just as time was, only faster. I became so weary that I nearly fell over.

I saw the spirit of a small child smiling absorbed into the crystal.

Caetano threw the glowing crystal impossibly high into the air where it shattered like a firework and left glimmers of light in the night sky. For a brief moment, we both forgot our pain. For a brief moment, we smiled. For a brief moment, the stars had returned to Eligor. But only for a brief moment.


End file.
